Middle East Situation | Iran: Will Accelerate Humanitarian Cargo Ship Passage Through the Strait of Hormuz

SighingCashier · 2026-03-28T03:46:08+00:00

Since the outbreak of the Iran war four weeks ago, the shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has significantly decreased. Iran stated that it will expedite the passage of humanitarian cargo ships and prevent vessels from "hostile" countries. Despite attempts to establish a toll system to increase traffic, the effect has been limited. Iran and Israel are still engaging in mutual attacks, and regional tensions continue to escalate.

SighingCashier

2026-03-28 03:46:08

Abstract generation in progress

Since the outbreak of the war in Iran four weeks ago, the passage of vessels through the critical oil route of the Strait of Hormuz seems to be essentially stagnant. Iran has stated that it will expedite the safe passage of humanitarian cargo ships through the Strait of Hormuz in response to a request from the United Nations.

Iran’s representative to the United Nations indicated that the measures reflect Iran’s commitment to supporting humanitarian efforts and that specific arrangements will be determined with the United Nations in due course to ensure the safety of non-hostile nation vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

Additionally, Bloomberg cited tracking data from the Automatic Identification System (AIS), indicating that only 4 bulk carriers and 2 liquefied petroleum gas carriers passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, totaling 39 vessels in the past 7 days. In contrast, an average of nearly 60 merchant ships passed through daily in 2025.

According to the semi-official Mehr news agency, Iran forced 3 cargo ships of different nationalities to turn back on Friday. Two large container ships associated with the Chinese state-owned enterprise China COSCO Shipping Group recently attempted to pass through the Strait of Hormuz to leave the Persian Gulf but suddenly turned back when approaching Iran.

Although Iran attempted to establish a toll system, with individual voyage “tolls” reaching up to $2 million, this initiative seems to have failed to boost traffic volume. Tehran also stated this week that it would prohibit vessels from “hostile” nations from passing through, suggesting that vessels from some other countries might be allowed to transit.

Tracking data also shows that the “gift” claimed by Trump of allowing 10 oil tankers to pass through seems not to have been realized as of now.

On Friday, Iran and Israel continued to launch missiles at each other, with Tehran also targeting Gulf countries. Saudi Arabia reported intercepting drones and missiles aimed at Riyadh, alarms sounded in Doha, and the port of Kuwait was damaged in a drone attack. Israel stated that it is increasing its strikes on Iranian military infrastructure.

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